"Flame &Thunder" drag races. 4.11.06

[Manky Monkey]

Check the link for this one. The big season closer at Santa Pod raceway, Poddington, Bedfordshire.
It's got everything you could possibly want -top fuelers, funny cars, rods, drag bikes, jet cars, jet quads, jet trikes, monster trucks, night time racing, fireworks, tap-dancing elephants. O.K, I lied about that one.
If you've never been dragging this is the meet to go to.
On all weekend but Saturday is the big day -& night. A few of the Manky crew will be there so come & say Hello. Brock & the Wild Bunch Nostalgia racing mob will be doing their stuff too.
15 quid on the Saturday or 10 quid after 2pm.
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_flame.php

[Urban Terrorist]

I won't be going, but  John will be there with the Alien!!

[Manky Monkey]

I'm starting to think you're avoiding us mate! Tell him to give us a shout if he sees a MMMotors shirt -or the orangest trike in the World. Shouldn't be hard to spot.
So where's your report on the Ratbike do then?

[Wulfgar]

Wanted to go last year, didn't make it, wanted to go this year, not going to make it................................oh well i guess there's always next year.

[Manky Monkey]

No sweat. Can't do everything. I can't afford to do anything.
Aim for the MonkeyWorld run in the Spring. It'd be good to see you there.

[Wulfgar]

Yeah Monkey world is already booked, just got to hope the trike is done in time now, had a visit from Toad and he is up for us crashing at his so that's sorted.

It'll be great to meet you and a few of the others as well.

[Manky Monkey]

We'll have to start thinking of a suitable date so people have something to work towards then.
Looks like young Yoda will be at the Flame & Thunder meet this weekend too.

[BikerGran]

I've taken it upon myself to start a new thread for the Monkey World Run.

[Manky Monkey]

Thanks Honey -Manky, passing the buck. 

[Manky Monkey]

Hmm. 20 years since I last visited Santa Pod -& it'll probably be another 20 before I go back.
Flap & I were going to ride up on the Flapster & take some snaps of it in the pits at the Flame & Thunder meet.
We sprang a leak on one of the brake lines though so cut our losses, stopped off in Newbury to grab some snaps, then headed home & jumped in my freshly MOT'd van instead.
Finally made it to the Pod at 5pm. Pitch black by then. Paid our 10 quids & parked up in the huge camping/carpark fields. We crested the brow of the grass bank alongside the track just in time to hear "And next up is Steve Field in the Black Pig" -another great 131mph run. The Pig looking fantastic as it howled down the floodlit track.
And that was the highlight of our trip really.
1000s & 1000s of people there. Steve tells me it's not unheard of to have 30,00 onsite. Vast shuffling armies of chavvy lowlifes in every variation of tacky hatchback imaginable. We couldn't figure out what attracted them. Can't imagine they're drag race fans somehow. Seething masses of numpties, a darkened circuit, no discernable organisation. There was Monster truck stuff going on & somebody doing displays of wheelspins & handbrake turns -could've nicked the car from the carpark for all we knew, but not much else.
A firework display later in the evening & a very loud, very tacky fairground, (God I'm getting old & grumpy!).
But not much racing. Then halfway through the evening, a major disaster.
Tony Baker, (ex driver of the green "Torque of the Devil" Ford Pop, was making a demonstration run in Fireforce 1, one of the stable of jet powered machines to be found at most of the big meets. As he left the line there was a lot of fuel on the track. Seconds later, the parachutes deployed & instantly the car erupted in flames. Pulled over to the barrier of the left hand lane only 100 yards from the line, Fireforce 1 was totally gutted. Thankfully Tony escaped & was taken away by ambulance but the car's gone for ever.
So that brought the racing to a close for the night. Nothing could move on the track. In the end we decided we may as well make our way home. Took us 2 1/2 hours to get out. Pitch black, 1000s of cars all trying to leave the site at the same time, trying to get out through fields full of tents, no idea which way actually was out. A nightmare. Eventually someone took down a barrier & we joined a stream of cars to escape. As we left, an ambulance & several Police cars were trying to fight their way in through the same entrance so there was presumably another incident somewhere in the darkness.
Obviously the crash wasn't the Pod's fault, but there just didn't seem to be any organisation in evidence, so hordes of people just milling about, not knowing what to do or where to go.
We finally made it home just before midnight, very weary.
Think we'll stick to Avon Park in future. 

[Wulfgar]

Bloody hell, glad i didn't go sounds like it's been taken over by chav scum.

[Manky Monkey]

Probably just a bad meet, but put me off ever going back. Avon Park seems so laid back in comparison. Yodie went up in the morning, (he was going to take some snaps of Flap's trike there), but rang me 10 minutes before we set out in a foul mood cos he'd had all sorts of problems with press passes & disabled access. I should've listened to him.
I don't have much luck with emailing these YouTube links to people but if it works here's some spectator film of Fireforce 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JljP9FnuCa4

[Manky Monkey]

Steve had asked Flap & I to get to the Pod early cos he needed extra race crew for the day. Of course, we didn't. Ever reliable, us.
Watched him do his stuff on the track -maybe not cool to admit it, but I'm seriously impressed by my big bro. Buggered if I'd want to be strapped in that thing when it's charging down the track. Anyway, we eventually found him in the darkness of the pits, (don't they have any lights at the Pod?). Turns out he had no crew at all. His wife Lesley, who is brilliant & backs him 110%, was taken ill & spent the day in bed in their race trailer. His garage buddies couldn't make it, so he was actually relying on a pair of Muppets on a trike to turn up. Sorry bro. 
I love drag races but don't follow the rankings or even watch that many runs. I just love the atmosphere & the noise & the cars & the customs that always come to watch etc. So I didn't know that Steve can't buckle his own race harness when he's wedged in the rollcage, can't spin the tryes to warm them without someone to watch there's no-one in the way, can't turn round so can't see to reverse the car back after his burnout & can't even see the last 6 feet leading up to the line -so needs crew members to help him race.
Again. Sorry mate. 

[Manky Monkey]

And he broke his steering -again. Two meets in a row.

[flap]

We really are hopeless. We will have to make it to a race early in the morning next year and help Steve, but we'll probably get run over or at least slightly injured if we spend a hole day helping out.